Domain sales Made in China.
The Chinese stock market ended its week with a loss, closing down 3.6% on Friday; that’s more than 20% below its high in December.
An oncoming bear market in China should be taken into consideration, as far as domain name investments go, particularly as analysts have warned of the chance for more market volatility ahead.
So far, domain sales of short domains (4-6 characters) being traded as “chips,” along with shorter domains (2 or 3 letters) that are being acquired primarily by corporations in China, drive the Chinese domain market.
We follow sales on a daily basis, reporting on it; here are the latest news about short domains being sold in China, with some data from BenMi.com.
267.cn
595.cn
662.cn
fff.cn
fyr.cn
fzq.cn
gpd.cn
kfx.cn
klf.cn
nbm.cn
ntf.cn
sqm.cn
tss.cn
ttr.cn
wmz.cn
fkc.com
gkf.com
gqg.com
hxk.com
ndq.com
njt.com
nlq.com
nqw.com
pzy.com
qdk.com
qgx.com
qkg.com
qlw.com
qng.com
qwh.com
xwr.com
ycy.com
ygf.com
6352.com
dddm.com
79333.com
The Chinese stock market performance is a concern for sure as far as to seeing how it will affect the domain aftermarket. However stock market pullbacks in the US and Europe in past years haven’t really hurt the domain market too much, so there may not be a strong correlation. Everything I’ve seen so far in 2016 shows that things have just kept going from where they left off in 2015, but it’s still early. I think the overall dollars involved in the domain market pales in comparison to the stock market and commodity trading values. In fact, domains may be seen as a better alternative or as a way to diversify investments, a way to play technology and the growth of the global Web. And since the China boom only really started taking off in 2015, more people may still be getting onboard and we could just be getting started. If there is some kind of severe market meltdown like 2007/08, I’d say there is a good chance it would have to impact domains somehow. Those who are actively trying to guess and play Chinese domain demand are taking some risk, but those still sitting on the sidelines calling for a bubble may also be missing the upswing if it continues. Nobody really knows!
Exact match keyword domains and short easy to remember names will always have value. Of course they will go and down but if you sell “whatever” products and services then whatever will hold value in the most popular extension AND languages.
金沙.com was just reported sold for $45,000 at IDNForums.com. It means Sands.com in simplified Chinese. Idn.com’s suck 😉
Why do u keep bringing this up? The Chinese stock market has no correlation to the domain market. What’s your game?
Charles – My game is to inform domain investors of the obvious correlations; if you choose to be in denial, that’s *your* game.
The two markets are so interconnected, when numerous reports state domains are used as both an investment by the Chinese, and as a means to funnel cash out of the country.
There are probably only 5-10 LL.com sold each month. At $1M per name, that is only $5-10M per month. Total of all LLL.com sales per month is probably under $10M also. Compared to stock market and real estate market, that is less than a rounding error.
But if more and more Chinese start putting some money into domains as stock market and real estate starts looking less attractive, we could see huge future price increases with the best .coms. There is simply no inventory, so each time there is an extra $100M that needs to be invested into the best .coms, prices have to increase dramatically. These price increases will only accelerate as inventory keeps shrinking.
Jon – The direction of the larger market, the stock market, affects the smaller market. Or are you discounting the domain market just because its numbers don’t add up to stock market figures?
Inventory exists and/or is created as needed. In case you were wondering, the LLLL .com market was created by a group of fund managers to leverage Chinese funds. What followed, with the 5/6 etc. markets is a spillover effect.
I view LL.com and LLL.com as blue chip investment grade. LLLL.com is lower-grade and riskier. Longer is further lower grade and further risk. When it comes to LL.com and LLL.com future prices, the only thing I think matters is if there are new pools of money wanting to invest in them. I also think that the amount of money invested in them in the past few years has been relatively minuscule. And that already pushed LL.com and NN.com ten-fold. That tells you that there is no real inventory.
There’s a huge bubble in many asset classes, domains including. I would argue domains, as an asset class overall,, are overvalued. No one wanted to hear it in 2007. No one wants to hear it now. There’s simply too much money floating around and it’s inflating some asset classes tremendously.
Look out below. It’s going to pop at some point. Keep some powder dry.
Jon – No disagreement there. Perhaps I misunderstood what you were saying earlier. LL/LLL are indeed meant for corporate budgets and/or large acquisitions. Very few meant for re-investment. The ‘canary in the coalmine’ is about the lesser domains that balance on a fine edge as an alternative to stock investments in China. One cannot discount the stock market’s fluctuations or larger movements when investing in ‘chips.’
Dg, Can’t we call em Fish and Chips …….. i’m hungry
I’m not convinced that stock markets and the domain aftermarket are closely correlated, except in the case of a severe longer term correction, in which case the whole economy is impacted anyway.